Fox poll: Obama over Romney

By PATRICK REIS

05/17/2012 08:10 AM EDT

A new poll from Fox News has President Obama leading Mitt Romney by 7 percentage points.

The poll -- which put Obama ahead 46 percent to 39 -- paints a rosier picture for Obama than several others this week, including surveys from Rasmussen and the Washington Times that showed Romney leading by a single percentage point and one from Gallup that had the candidates in a dead heat.

The Fox News Poll -- jointly overseen by one Democratic- and one Republican-leaning firm -- surveyed 913 registered voters earlier this week. The poll had a 3 percentage point margin of error.

Respondents in the poll said they would prefer Romney as their investment advisor by a 47-to-34 margin. But when asked which candidate they would hire as a life coach, respondents backed Obama 47 percent to 33.